World Jewish Congress-US today applauded a resolution passed by the US Senate strongly recommending that the United States renegotiate the return of the Iraqi Jewish Archive to Iraq. American and Iraqi Jewish organizations seek to prevent the return of the archive, which was rescued by American authorities from the flooded cellar of Saddam’s secret police headquarters during the Iraq War.
“The Senate is to be commended for recognizing that the archive, a precious legacy of Iraqi Jewry, must not be returned to Iraq at this time,” said WJC-US Chairman Rabbi Joel Meyers. “We thank Senators Toomey, Blumenthal, and the other co-sponsors of this important resolution for their hard work on this issue.”
The resolution, adopted by unanimous consent, “strongly urges the Department of State to renegotiate with the Government of Iraq the provisions of the original agreement that was signed between the National Archives and Records Administration and the Coalition Provisional Authority in order to ensure that the Iraqi Jewish Archive be kept in a place where its long-term preservation and care can be guaranteed.” It also “recognizes that the Iraqi Jewish Archive should be housed in a location that is accessible to scholars and to Iraqi Jews and their descendants who have a personal interest in it.” It had 30 co-sponsors, including 18 Republicans and 12 Democrats.
Background
World Jewish Congress is committed to raising the plight of Jews who fled from, or still live in, Arab lands and their specific concerns with governments and international organizations, and recently held an educational symposium in Jerusalem on the Iraqi Jewish archive.
After World War II and the establishment of the State of Israel, the World Jewish Congress was perhaps the foremost organization assisting Jews in Arab and other Muslim countries. In the 1950s, the WJC negotiated the safe passage of Jewish refugees with a number of Arab governments, especially in North Africa. The issue of the 850,000 Jewish refugees from Arab lands and the patrimony those Jews left in their countries of origin continues to be a focus of the organization.
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